| I have my doubts about some of the statistics in this article (Groningen the number 6 wealthiest place in Europe? I'm not so sure about that) but I can't deny that wages and freely expendable income in the US are much higher than most of Europe. However, with the work ethic and the hours many US workers pull to maintain those standards, I'm not so sure if I'd want Europe to move towards the rich American standard. From a rich man's perspective, which many of HN's readers are very likely to know because this crowd is seemingly highly educated or intelligent through their own pursuit, the US does allow for a better standard of living than most of Europe. The wages are higher, the taxes are often loert and there's better access to luxury items. However, in pursuit of happiness, I'd prefer less work and more free time to enjoy the fruits of my labour over amassing wealth. Having access to expensive laptops instead of needing to cheap out is nice, but what's the point if you barely have time to enjoy your purchase? There's also the perspective of poor, uneducated people. In a lot of cases I'd much rather be jobless or stuck in uneducated labour in Europe than in the US with the Labour rights situation in a lot of states. The right to work system means you have a lot more power if your boss depends on your skill, but if you don't have any unique skills or can't sell them, the same power can be turned against you to limit your options. The employee-oriented labour protection a large part of Europe enjoys is worth more to me than he ability to get a raise or leave for another employee tomorrow. I wonder what this article would look like if it weren't written by an economist, but rather by someone researching general happiness. I'll take poor and happy over being rich and unhappy any time, and wealth can only add so much to your hapiness. |